It turns out that luxury hotel you've been dying to stay at doesn't actually have everything you need.

Whether you’re a frequent traveler or a once-a-year vacationer, there’s one amenity you’re probably counting on during your next hotel stay: free, working Wi-Fi. And you're not alone: Hotels.com recently released a survey, in which hotel guests ranked free Wi-Fi as the most important in-room amenity. Fortunately, Internet access has become commonplace, especially at hotels that caters to business travelers or millennials.

But there are still a few hold-outs, including luxury hotels and heavily-franchised brands. In past editions of HotelChatter.com's annual Wi-Fi report, the site has done extensive data-crunching and presentation, all of which you can scroll through here. But this year, the site took a "Scared Straight" tactic.

10 hotel chains that are still charging for Wi-Fi*:

*Some of these brands offer WiFi free in the lobbies or public spaces and some individual properties even offer it free everywhere or as part of a resort fee. But more often than not, you can expect to pay for internet at these hotels. See even more brands that charge for WiFi here.

So why isn't Wi-Fi free at all hotels?

Charging for Wi-Fi is the new charging for telephone calls, but there’s another issue at hand: the owner/operator struggle. Most hotel brands don’t actually own the physical property where the hotel is located. Instead, they sign a management contract with the hotel’s owners, and then run the operations under the brand name. The owner has to commit to some of the hotel brands' standards and programming (services, amenities, decor, etc.) but free Wi-Fi isn't always on that list.

DoubleTree by Hilton offers free Wi-Fi in the public spaces of all their hotels but not in all rooms. That’s a decision left up to the owners, says John Greenleaf, global head of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels. "It’s something we’re always looking at doing, to try to meet both the guests’ and the owners’ needs."

As other franchised brands grapple with the Free or Not Free issue, hotels that are developed, owned, and managed by the same group tend to take a different stance on Wi-Fi. Andrew Zobler, CEO of the Sydell Group—which owns and operates several properties, including The Nomad Hotel in New York and the just-opened Line Hotel in Los Angeles—has free Wi-Fi at all his hotels. "To charge for Wi-Fi is just terrible—it's like charging for water, something you just don't do," he says. "Having really good Wi-Fi and having it be free is critical."

And it's not just critical to the guest experience; it also affects the hotel's bottom line, as more guests make their booking decisions based on whether or not a hotel has free and/or working Wi-Fi. The last-minute mobile booking app, HotelTonight, will steer away from listing a hotel if it has received bad feedback about the Wi-Fi offerings. "We curate our hotels based on guest experience, and slow Wi-Fi is considered an amenity that doesn’t work," says Sam Shank, CEO and founder of HotelTonight, comparing a hotel with bad Wi-Fi to a one that advertises a full fitness center but in reality, only has a few dumbbells and one cardio machine.

If guest complaints about Wi-Fi charges or badly working Wi-Fi aren't enough to convince hotels to change, maybe the very real threat of losing precious booking dollars will. But in the meantime…

Where can you find free, working Wi-Fi during your next hotel stay?

For starters, consult this list of hotel brandsthat are known to offer free Wi-Fi. If you really want to stay at one of the hotels on the offending list above, look at their websites for special offers and package deals as those often include Wi-Fi. You can also get free Wi-Fi by becoming a member of a hotel loyalty program. Some brands offer it free to all members, some only for elite members.

Several hotels offer free Wi-Fi to guests who book directly through their website. Mandarin Oriental Hotels started doing this last year: Guests have to sign up and create a profile as well as book a published rate through the hotel, but after going through those hoops, you should save about $20 a day on Internet fees.

What if you need more bandwidth?

If you’re staying in a franchised hotel brand that offers free WiFi, chances are you can pay for more bandwidth and faster speeds. For example, Marriott International doesn't have free Wi-Fi at its flagship brand, but does offer a tiered Wi-Fi structure through its select service brands: Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn and Suites, Springhill Suites, Residence Inn and Townhill Suites. The structure is pretty simple: Basic Internet browsing is free, but if guests need more bandwidth, they can pay for "Enhanced High Speed Internet."This way, everyone can get the bandwidth they need, without bringing down the hotel's network.

"We quickly identified how our guests’ growing reliance on the Internet was causing bandwidth issues," said Violeta Seidell, vice president of project services at Marriott International. "Therefore, we created minimum bandwidth standards and infrastructure improvements that would take into account the trend of transferring larger files, as well as streaming content." The "enhanced" rate varies from property to property but Marriott Rewards Gold and Platinum Elite members will be able to get the enhanced Internet option for free. Marriott International plans on rolling out the tiered structure globally later this year.

Hilton Hotelsrecentlylaunched a similar program for its "focused service" brands: Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites. Guests can still get basic Internet for free, but to stream an HD movie, they can pay $3.95 for more bandwidth. This new tier is in place at 700 properties in the U.S. with plans to take it worldwide by the end of the year.